Glasgow 1946. The last time Brodie came home it was 1942 and he was a proud young man in a paratrooper's uniform. Now, the war is over but victory's wine has soured and Brodie's back in Scotland to try and save childhood friend Shug Donovan from the gallows. Everyone thought Donovan was dead, shot down in the war. Perhaps it would have been kinder if he had been killed. The man who returns from the war is unrecognisable: mutilated, horribly burned. Donovan keeps his own company, only venturing out for heroin to deaden the pain of his wounds. When a local boy is found raped and murdered, there is only one suspect. Donovan claims he's innocent but a mountain of evidence says otherwise. Despite the hideousness of the crime, ex-policeman Brodie feels compelled to try and help his one time friend. Working with advocate Samantha Campbell, Brodie trawls the mean streets of the Gorbals and the green hills of western Scotland in their search for the truth. What they find is an unholy alliance of troublesome priests, corrupt coppers and Glasgow's deadliest razor gang, happy to slaughter to protect their dark and dirty secrets. As time runs out for the condemned man, the murder tally of innocents starts to climb. When Sam Campbell disappears, it's the last straw for Brodie, and he reverts to his wartime role as a trained killer. It's them or him -
The Hanging Shed: Douglas Brodie Series, Book 1
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An impressive example of what's now called `Scottish noir'... a hit on the Kindle charts before its release in hard cover, it's the start of a Brodie series, and if its successors are as good we might just have found a new Ian Rankin.
--Daily Mail
--Daily Mail
From the Publisher
Glasgow, 1946. The last time Douglas Brodie came home it was 1942 and he was a dashing young warrior in a kilt. Now, the war is over but victory's wine has soured and Brodie's back in Scotland to try and save childhood friend Hugh Donovan from the gallows.
Everyone thought Hugh was dead, shot down in the war. Perhaps it would have been kinder if he had been killed. The man who returns from the war is unrecognizable: mutilated, horribly burned. Hugh keeps his own company, only venturing out for heroin to deaden the pain of his wounds. When a local boy is found raped and murdered, there is only one suspect.
Hugh claims he's innocent but a mountain of evidence says otherwise. Despite the hideousness of the crime, ex-policeman Brodie feels compelled to try and help his one time friend. Working with advocate Samantha Campbell, Brodie trawls the mean streets of the Gorbals and the green hills of western Scotland in their search for the truth. What they find is an unholy alliance of troublesome priests, corrupt coppers and Glasgow's deadliest razor gang, happy to slaughter to protect their dark and dirty secrets. As time runs out for the condemned man, the murder tally of innocents starts to climb. When Sam Campbell disappears, it's the last straw for Brodie, and he reverts to his wartime role as a trained killer. It's them or him...
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
274 of 283 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I bought this book on my Kindle, and loved the fact that it was set in Scotland. Loved the way it was written, with the descriptions of Glasgow pubs, fish suppers and the harshness of living in the Gorbals. I really enjoyed the way that there were a couple of subplots and a few wrong turns. I found it difficult to put this book down, though towards the end I felt it was a bit of a mish-mash and I was a little bit disappointed with the ending - however if Brodie is going to become a regular character in Gordon Ferris books, then as I say as good as if not better than Ian Rankin! Another Brodie book soon please!
I'm just disappointed now that I can't get his other books for my Kindle, so please put the others onto Kindle so I can read them!
I'm just disappointed now that I can't get his other books for my Kindle, so please put the others onto Kindle so I can read them!
137 of 144 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Like many other reviewers I received a Kindle for Christmas and took advantage of Amazon's Twelve Days of Christmas offer where they made a number of books available for £1. The Hanging Shed is a bit of a mixed read. I loved the descriptions of post war Glasgow and although too young to remember Glasgow at that time, I felt that there was an authenticity to the descriptions although at times (not many) there was a tad too much detail which made the descriptions seemed a bit forced. But that's just a minor niggle. Much more significant is how the plot develops. It started off so well with the protagonist, Brodie (a great name for the character) getting a phone call from an old friend. This poor man has not only been horribly injured during the war but has been framed for the murder and rape of his ex girlfriend's son and is awaiting his sentence of being hanged to death. Brodie reluctantly agrees to try to help and so returns to Scotland. There he hooks up with his friend's lawyer, an older but attractive woman and tries to find out what really happens. For about two thirds, the book is really gripping but then it just loses it and becomes unrealistic in the way of so many thrillers with people getting out of implausibly difficult situations unscathed. It would have been so much better if it had concentrated on proving the innocence of the accused as it was in this part of the book that there was the least action but most tension.
72 of 77 people found the following review helpful
By Hellibot
Format:Kindle Edition
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading it in just two sittings. I loved the strong believable characters, and the backdrop of the end of WWII. The author has a great sense of pacing and dramatically conveyed an engrossing and compelling narrative. Great stuff, and a great value read.
69 of 74 people found the following review helpful
By Lou
Format:Kindle Edition
The first book I read on my Kindle and although I found it a little slow at first (although this may be to do with my first Kindle experience), it soon gripped me and I was completely engrossed in the story. Thoroughly enjoyable, difficult to predict the storyline and hard to put down! Recommended
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By Alistair
Format:Kindle Edition
I'm another one who bought this as a first cheap book for my new Kindle.
It is a really good read, and, for me, I would have enjoyed it even more if the author had risked keeping the slower pace of the first half throughout. Gordon Ferris has a comfortable style of writing that makes for a relaxing read - even when the material gets a bit "gritty"
I would certainly recommend it (even when the price goes back up!)
It is a really good read, and, for me, I would have enjoyed it even more if the author had risked keeping the slower pace of the first half throughout. Gordon Ferris has a comfortable style of writing that makes for a relaxing read - even when the material gets a bit "gritty"
I would certainly recommend it (even when the price goes back up!)
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By gill jax
Format:Kindle Edition
I agree with the first two reviews. I could not put it down and ended up reading the book in one day. I actually liked the first part of the book that was described as being a bit slow by one of the previous reviewers - I live in Ayrshire and although I was brought up in a different era, I could see my own grandmother in to the character of Douglas Brodies mum.
The story line is fast paced and beautifully written. I could not wait to find out what happened next.
The story line is fast paced and beautifully written. I could not wait to find out what happened next.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I cannot agree with those reviewers who compare Gordon Ferris to Ian Rankin. Ian Rankin writes intelligent plots in fine prose and gets his facts correct. On the evidence of this book Gordon Ferris does none of these.
The plot of The Hanging Shed is far-fetched to the point of laughability, particularly the various shooting incidents which would be more at home in a cowboy western than a story set in 1940s U.K. The characters appear to have come from The Lazy Author's Big Book of Cliches and Stereotypes - razor gangs, paedophile priest, corrupt policemen, IRA thugs, prim spinster lawyer with (of course) a latent enthusiasm for sex and so on.
Apart from the daft story the book is absolutely riddled with factual errors, both historical and legal. Hugh Donovan could not have "died in his bomber in the flames of Dresden" in 1943 since Dresden didn't suffer any significant bombing until it was razed to the ground in February 1945. Perhaps the author really meant Hamburg but couldn't be bothered to check. Early in the book the author claims Clydebank was bombed in March 1940 and Brodie believed he might have heard the aircraft going over while serving with the pre-Dunkirk BEF in France. Wrong on both counts. Clydebank was bombed in March 1941, long after the BEF left France, and most of the aircraft involved in the raid came from Holland and North Germany and went nowhere near France. Bizarrely, the correct date for the Clydebank raid is given later in the book which says as much about the standard of editing as it does about the writing.... Read more ›
The plot of The Hanging Shed is far-fetched to the point of laughability, particularly the various shooting incidents which would be more at home in a cowboy western than a story set in 1940s U.K. The characters appear to have come from The Lazy Author's Big Book of Cliches and Stereotypes - razor gangs, paedophile priest, corrupt policemen, IRA thugs, prim spinster lawyer with (of course) a latent enthusiasm for sex and so on.
Apart from the daft story the book is absolutely riddled with factual errors, both historical and legal. Hugh Donovan could not have "died in his bomber in the flames of Dresden" in 1943 since Dresden didn't suffer any significant bombing until it was razed to the ground in February 1945. Perhaps the author really meant Hamburg but couldn't be bothered to check. Early in the book the author claims Clydebank was bombed in March 1940 and Brodie believed he might have heard the aircraft going over while serving with the pre-Dunkirk BEF in France. Wrong on both counts. Clydebank was bombed in March 1941, long after the BEF left France, and most of the aircraft involved in the raid came from Holland and North Germany and went nowhere near France. Bizarrely, the correct date for the Clydebank raid is given later in the book which says as much about the standard of editing as it does about the writing.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent new author look forward to the next book.
worth a five star. I wanted to try a new author and enjoyed this book would recommend it. great read..
Published 1 day ago by koala
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fast delivery and I am very happy with the read, does what it says on...
Fast delivery and I am very happy with the read, does what it says on the tin, good reading,trouble putting it down
Published 5 days ago by RockapeMick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great discovery
My first book by this author and I am hooked! Not the cheeriest of books but very gripping, have bought the second in this series already.
Published 7 days ago by Yvonne Margaret Keir
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
This is an excellent portrayal of the life in Glasgow post war. It is violent but you are swept along by the story, I will now look for more by this author. Really enjoyed it.
Published 19 days ago by Phyllis Heron
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good solid read
I bought this book after reading a sample of it from the Amazon website and I am glad I did. Ferris has written a good novel. Read more
Published 19 days ago by C. S. Bancroft
4.0 out of 5 stars
Guid Scots Fiction
A great read with some lovely descriptions - I loved that it was set in Scotland (there needs to be more novels set in Scotland! Read more
Published 19 days ago by Jill Sunter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Very good book for a quick read. It only took me a few days to read as it kept me enthralled
Published 20 days ago by Cary
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant read
Loved the setting for the book, Glasgow just after ww2. Fast paced, never let up and believable. Great characters. Would read more by this author.
Published 24 days ago by H. Bain
3.0 out of 5 stars
Shows Promise
The Hanging Shed introduces the reader to Douglas Brodie, a returning war hero in 1945, summoned by Hugh Donovan, a friend who awaits the hangman in Barlinnie Gaol in Glasgow. Read more
Published 26 days ago by MisterHobgoblin
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Glasgow Ian Rankine
Good easy reading but his books get better. It is a nice change to have an author who who writes about Glasgow and doesn't have every second word a swear one. Read more
Published 26 days ago by evie
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